The present invention generally relates to a flashlight or area table lamp having a flexible neck. Further, the present invention relates to an illumination device functioning as both a flashlight and an area table lamp.
Portable illumination devices such as flashlights and lanterns have gained wide acceptance for a variety of uses. Such portable illumination devices are very useful for camping, hiking, and performing common household and automotive maintenance tasks. Portable illumination devices take various forms including a directive illumination device, such as a flashlight or directive lantern and an area light or area lantern of the type which typically includes a strap or handle above the light source and emits illumination 180-360 degrees radially from the light source. Such area lights may include incandescent or fluorescent light sources or may include a gas burner element. Due to the diverse manners in which such portable illumination devices may be used in any one environment, one type of illumination device may be more suitable for one particular use than the other type of illumination device. For example, directive lights (i.e., flashlights) are better suited for hiking along a trail because they provide greater illumination intensity in a particular direction, whereas area lights are better suited for providing area illumination of a campsite. Thus, campers typically resort to purchasing and using separate flashlights and area lights. When used for hiking, the need to pack two separate illumination devices takes up precious space in the hiker's backpack and adds additional weight that must be carried.
To eliminate the need for two separate portable illumination devices, portable illumination devices have been developed that function as both a flashlight and an area light. Such combination portable illumination devices may include two separate light sources such as an incandescent flashlight bulb and a fluorescent tube for area illumination, or they may include a single incandescent light source that is dynamically movable between two positions so as to emit illumination from behind one of two different lenses.
Another form of portable illumination device is a flashlight formed with a flexible core. Examples of such flashlights are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,311 issued to F. L. Dahl on Jul. 16, 1968, entitled ADJUSTABLE TROUBLE LAMP MEANS; U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,392 issued to John G. Rousso et al. on May 14, 1996, entitled SLEEVE RETENTION FOR FLEXIBLE CORE OF A FLASHLIGHT; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,803 issued to Lee H. Eckert et al. on May 28, 1996, entitled FLASHLIGHT WITH FLEXIBLE CORE. Such flashlights utilize a flexible core to enable the flashlight head to be positionally manipulated to illuminate a desired location. Some of these flexible core flashlights further enable the flashlight to be wrapped around a pole or the like to enable hands-free manipulation of the object that is being illuminated. Such flashlights, however, are not particularly well-suited for illuminating a wide area due to their optical elements that direct the illumination primarily in a single direction. These flexible core flashlights are particularly ill-suited for area illumination of a table top when the only location to place the flashlight is on the same table top. Further, when such flexible core flashlights are placed on a surface and the flashlight head is moved, the flashlight head exhibits an undesirable bouncing effect.